[nabs-l] Cars for the Blind

Fri Aug 6 03:37:30 UTC 2010

Man...no.  What if I wanna drag race, or do doughnuts in the middle of
the road, or something like that?  I'm not sure an autonomous computer
would let me be a risky driver like that.  But- in all seriousness,
I'm not sure there's any substitute for the human brain.  I really
wouldn't trust any computer, no matter how advanced, to drive me any
place.  Because, all the computing power in the world can't make up
for human intuition and reasoning.  I suppose avoiding obstacles and
the like would be possible with a computer driving you, but I think
there are situations on a road that require more complex problem
solving ability than that.  And- pardon my silliness, but where's the
fun in letting a computer drive you any place?  To me that almost
defeats the purpose of driving.  Just sayin.  :)
 Hope everyone's doing well,
Kirt

On 8/5/10, Mark J. Cadigan <kramc11 at gmail.com> wrote:
> In my opinion, a car that drives itself would be the best option. Eliminate
> human error from the equation. I don't just mean for blind drivers, but for
> everyone. Have your own personal Cray supercomputer under the hood along
> with the engine. Lol. But in all seriousness the computing power required to
> have a truly autonomous vehicle would be staggering.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kirt Manwaring" <kirt.crazydude at gmail.com>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 5:25 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Cars for the Blind
>
>
>> Absolutely- but, 50 years ago, the technology for computers and the
>> internet was still conceivable, although not available.  To me, the
>> hardest part would be getting a system which could show us everything
>> a sighted person could see on the road, and give us enough time to
>> react acordingly.  (we're talking split-second things here, stuff
>> sighted peoples' brains see and process practicly instantaneously)  I
>> think, if such an interface is possible, it's a long, long way off.
>>  That being said, I'm all for what's happening with the blind driver
>> challenge and the race for independence.  That could be what we need
>> to make those technologies possible, and who knows what else could
>> come from it.  I just don't see me driving in ten, twenty, even fifty
>> years.  Maybe never.  But I hope to be proven wrong.  By all means, as
>> long as the money and resources are available for this kind of
>> research, and it seems to me they very much are, why the heck not?
>>
>> On 8/5/10, Ignasi Cambra <ignasicambra at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I also think it's a good idea, just because whether we end up making a
>>> car
>>> that we can drive or not, we will certainly learn something out of it. It
>>>
>>> is
>>> true that these days blind people are doing things which seemed
>>> impossible
>>> only 50 years ago. I wonder how many people in the 60s thought that it
>>> was
>>> possible to create a computer, and how many of those people thought it
>>> was
>>> possible to have a blind person use that computer independently like we
>>> do
>>> now. By then, it must have felt pretty much as impossible as driving a
>>> car
>>> feels now. I don't know if they'll get anything useful out of it, but
>>> technologies invented in order to make that car will certainly be useful
>>> in
>>> the future, both for blind and sighted people.
>>> On Aug 4, 2010, at 4:14 PM, Kirt Manwaring wrote:
>>>
>>>> I think the race for independence is a great idea.  Will it end up
>>>> producing a car we can actually drive- who can say?  But I see nothing
>>>> wrong with trying.  I confess to being, even after convention, a bit
>>>> skeptical of a car that I could drive.  It sounds great on paper- but
>>>> that's a whole heck of a lot of technology to depend on.  (you're
>>>> talking cameras, laser sensors, and the interface to efficiently show
>>>> a blind driver everything a sighted person's brain unconsciously
>>>> processes in a matter of miliseconds)  I'm no expert, and I certainly
>>>> hope future developments prove me wrong, but I just don't see how it's
>>>> going to work.  Does anyone have any information, other than what we
>>>> heard at onvention, about the specific technologies that could be
>>>> involved?  I'd be very interested.  Thanks and I appologize for the
>>>> rambling post.
>>>>
>>>> On 8/3/10, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Dear all,
>>>>>
>>>>> Something Antonio mentioned in his last post got me thinking about
>>>>> something.  Antonio said:
>>>>>
>>>>> "Let's support work to develop useful, cheaper, and better technologies
>>>>> and
>>>>> fully investigate something before becoming spoke persons for unviable
>>>>> solutions.
>>>>>
>>>>> I guess this is my sentiment as it relates to this whole project
>>>>> devoted
>>>>> to
>>>>> cars for the blind.  If the topic's already been discussed, I totally
>>>>> missed
>>>>> it, but what do people generally think about it?
>>>>>
>>>>> Joe
>>>>>
>>>>> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their
>>>>> sleeves,
>>>>> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>>>>>
>>>>>
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